받침 (batchim) means 'bottom support' — it's the consonant at the bottom of a syllable block. Not every syllable has one: 가 (ga) has no 받침, but 간 (gan) has ㄴ at the bottom. This is where pronunciation gets tricky because 받침 doesn't always sound like you'd expect.
The 7 받침 sounds
ㄱ 받침 → [k]ㄱ,ㅋ,ㄲ all become [k] at bottom: 각,악 = 'gak', 'ak'
ㄴ 받침 → [n]ㄴ stays [n]: 간,안 = 'gan', 'an'
ㄷ 받침 → [t]ㄷ,ㅌ,ㅅ,ㅆ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅎ ALL become [t]: 곧,것,못 = 'got','geot','mot'
ㄹ 받침 → [l]ㄹ becomes [l]: 갈,을 = 'gal', 'eul'
ㅁ 받침 → [m]ㅁ stays [m]: 감,음 = 'gam', 'eum'
ㅂ 받침 → [p]ㅂ,ㅍ become [p]: 갑,입 = 'gap', 'ip'
ㅇ 받침 → [ng]ㅇ becomes [ng]: 강,앙 = 'gang', 'ang'
Textbook27개 받침이 있습니다i-sip-chil-gae bat-chim-i it-seup-ni-daThere are 27 possible 받침
Real걱정 마, 소리는 7개뿐이야geok-jeong ma, so-ri-neun il-gop-gae-ppun-i-yaDon't worry, there are only 7 sounds🏷️ Close friends
27 different letters can go at the bottom, but they only make 7 sounds. ㅅ,ㅆ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅌ,ㅎ ALL sound like [t] at the bottom. Once you know the 7 sounds, you can read anything.
The biggest 'aha moment': ㅅ (s) at the bottom of a syllable is NOT 's' — it's 't'! So 것 is NOT 'geos' but 'geot'. 옷 is NOT 'os' but 'ot'. This is why Korean sounds so different from what you'd expect just reading the letters.
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